Statement by UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini at the Ministerial Meeting on UNRWA during High-Level Week at the 80th UNGA

NEW YORK - [as delivered]

Madam President,

Excellencies,

I am deeply grateful to Jordan, Spain and Brazil for hosting this ministerial meeting on UNRWA.

For nearly two years, we have witnessed an appalling disregard for life and international law in the occupied Palestinian territory.

Today, we are confronted with the stark consequences of prolonged inaction and impunity:

A famine - which is the result of replacing a principled humanitarian operation with mercenaries who weaponize food assistance;

A looming military occupation in Gaza;

Emboldened settlers and creeping annexation in the occupied West Bank;

And a multilateral system in peril.

History will forever ask our predecessors why they failed to prevent the genocides perpetrated under their watch.

With the warnings issued by the International Court of Justice last year, and the publication of the Commission of Inquiry report last week, this question must now be asked of us.

Against overwhelming odds, UNRWA continues to stand by Palestinians - providing life-saving humanitarian assistance; engaging the minds of traumatized children through learning and play; preserving family records and collective identity; and bearing witness to countless violations and indignities.

For enabling Palestinians to remain in the occupied territory - and build the best possible lives under a brutal occupation - we have been attacked relentlessly, in flagrant violation of United Nations privileges and immunities.

The attacks seek to dismantle the Agency to end the refugee status of Palestinians and further undermine prospects for a two-state solution.

The impact of these attacks has been devastating.

At least 370 of our colleagues have been killed in Gaza, where most of our premises, including schools and health clinics, have been destroyed.

Earlier this year, Israeli legislation facilitated the removal of UNRWA international staff from Gaza and the West Bank, and the closure of our schools in occupied East Jerusalem.

The Agency's supplies - enough to sustain the entire population of Gaza for three months - have been blocked from entering since March.

UNRWA has also been the subject of a fierce and well-funded disinformation campaign, spearheaded by the Government of Israel.

The campaign has targeted lawmakers in donor countries to tarnish the Agency's reputation, and to strangle both political support and funding for its vital work.

Similar campaigns are now being deployed to silence other UN entities, international NGOs and public officials; to justify assassinating journalists; and to deny the reality of famine and other international crimes.

Excellencies,

The reputational attack on UNRWA has worsened an already grim financial situation.

The loss of two major donors - including the Agency's largest contributor - has sparked a severe deficit and cashflow crisis, jeopardizing the viability of UNRWA's operations across programmes and fields.

The steady implementation of austerity and cost control measures amounting to 150 million USD in 2025, together with strict cashflow management, has allowed the Agency to pay staff salaries until now.

However, the shortfall between the last quarter of this year and the first quarter of next year exceeds 200 million USD.

Unlike in previous years, the projected income in the first quarter of 2026 is far too low to absorb any deficit from 2025.

In the absence of a significant influx of new funding, the delivery of critical services to millions of Palestine Refugees across the region will be compromised before the end of the year.

Excellencies,

The war in Gaza is re-shaping the multilateral system in profound ways.

Defending international law and the rules-based order is an active choice that each Member State must make.

I urge you to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the unconditional release of hostages.

Push back against the weaponization of humanitarian assistance and insist on the unrestricted deployment of the United Nations' humanitarian operation - including UNRWA's expertise and unparalleled aid distribution network.

This is the only way to reverse famine, stabilize a volatile situation, and support implementation of the New York Declaration.

I also implore you to safeguard UNRWA's mandate within a time-bound political process, and to finance the provision of essential services until that process is complete.

Thank you.